Line clamp



Jun Z6, T928. $75,175

L. S. HARVEY LINE CLAMP Filed Oct. 14. 192

i 3 ,Y m n if 10 1i 1 INVENTOR L eam an S. Harvey ATTORNEY aineters I of.

1,575,175 us er entice LEAMANYSJ. HARVEY; onwwArnnBuml;.ooNNneTioum.,

LINE CLAMP;

Application filed Octobenll, 1927; Serial No. 226,106.

This invention relates to improvements in line clamps, and more particularly to a clan'iping device for adjustablyi connecting'a; pair oilincs or cords, or the ends ofia single line. i

Une object of th'isinvention is to provide a fastener ottheabove nature which is adapted to he p eri'nanently connected "to one en'd of a line anddetachably connected to the other end of the line in such away that the'greatei the tension in the line, the stronger will'b'e the clamping efiect of'th'e fastener;

A further object is to provide a lineclamp of the above nature which may he quickly andeasily attached'to and detached from the lines. p p v i A further objectiis to provide a line clamp ing device 'ofthe above nature which isadapted to connect lines andrcords of various di without injury to the material there'- Alurther objectis to provide a line cla np olthe above nature comprising a'h'all-hiolding casing having a taperedinterior-track for forcing-the balliautomatically' into ment with the line.

A further object is to provide aidevice of this nature which will be simple in construc" tion, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to ma: nipulate, compact, andivery etficient and durable in use.

With these and other objectsin' Viewthere have'been' illustrated on the accompanying drawings two forms in which the invention may be conveniently einbodi'ed'in practice.

Fig. l-represents aside view on a reduced? scale of the first forinot line clanipfas- 1t appears when connected to both en'dsof a clothes line. v

Fig. 2 is a side View of the'li'neqclainp shown in Fig, l.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional View of the saine, showingin dotted lii'iesftheappean ance of the. cord when in clamped position.

F1 g, a: is a longitudinal sectionalview of the Same taken along the line H ofFig, ,3; looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig, 5 is a longitudinal sectional view, si n ilar to Fig. 3, of a modifiedforin-ofthe in}- vention.

Fig. 6 isa transverse sectional View ofjthe saine taken along the line 66' offFig; 5, looking in the direct-ion ofpthe arrows.

Referring now to the drawings in which like reference numerals denote corresponding parts throughout the several views, the nui get-her; the end 12:":isfirstattachedperinafaces 16 and 17 anda'pa-irofrelatively nar row'it'aces, said narrow facescomprising par-- allel forward: portions 18' 'and -19- and con" verging-rear-portions 20 and" 21. V

Inord'erto provide a track fora spherical ba-ll inemb er 22; the 10 w-erportionof theihoh lowinterior of the body, member 10 'is madeinfthe forin ofa channel 22 of send-circular cross-section; said channel 'being-ii1cl-ined*forwardly and terminating"inconstricted substantially:circular opening '23, aswaged downlip 24=extendingyinto said opening. 23 iorsecu-rely holding the ball ir'lplace. I

, The upper interior wall'of the-body-unernher ltlCOnlPlisQS- a horizontal serni cylin- 30 menti with -tlie upper leg" oi? the loop 11;

slightly less than that of the ball 22.

' In operation; when it is desired to fasten thetends 12 and 25Fof'tlre "clothes, line 18 tonen-tly' to the loop 11 o-fthe'line clain'p as by knotting; and the free end 25 is then insert--- edthro-ugh the rear open end QG t'the-casing until the free end 25 fp asses out through the t loop-ll and drops down to the position-shown in Fig'.--3. The operator will then grasp the casing 10 with oneh'anda-n-dpull rea-rwardly' uponrthe line18 with the other-,- atithe-sam'e time pressingthe hall 22 upwardly by inserting fingerthrough the opening 23, thereby causing the hall to frictionally"engage the line. I Gontinued krearward' pulling uponthe line will; force the ball 22 "to ride upwardly upon its track 22 automatically until the line is securely clan rped inposition Byrewson" ofthe-'self tightening action of'the device;the greaterthe tension' in the line, the stronger will be the clanipingacti'on ot the ball In order to force the-ball out of engage- 1H) mentiwi-ththecord 13when'the free end 25 of the latter is: pulled to the right/ as viewed" ond, to divert the ball 22 downwardly and forwardly away from the cord 25, as the latter is pulled forwardly with respect to the casing 10. It will be understood that the ball 22 willmove in this nanner irrespec- 'tive of the effect of gravity.

In the modified form of the invention shown in Figs. 5 and 6 the line clamp disclosed. is similar in all respects to the first form shown in Figs. 1 to 4 except in the shape of the channels in the interior of the casing. In this instance, the upper interior channel 28 is made of such size as to snugly fit the line to which the device is to be fastened and said upper channel is considerably smaller in diameter than the lower downwardly inclined ball-receiving channel 29. By means of this construction, a pair of shoulders or ribs 30, and 31 will be formed at the junction between the channels 28 and 29, whereby when theline is tightened the ball will be prevented from being forced too far into the material thereof, and thus avoiding possible injury thereto.

\Vhen it is desired to release the cord, it will only be necessary to pull forwardly upon the free end 12 of the cord, whereupon the ball will drop down to its original position. a

While there have been disclosed in this specification two forms in which the invention may be embodied, it is to be understood that these forms are shown for the purpose of illustration only, and that the invention is not to be limited to the specific disclosures but may be modified and embodied in various other forms without departing from its spirit. In short, the invention includes all the modifications and embodiments coming 7 within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new, and for. which itis desired to secure Letters Patent, is:

1. In a line clamp, a hollow body member having an interior cavity converging toward one end, a ball member housed within said body member for frictionally clamping the free end of a line, and means extending from said body member for permanent attachment to the other end of the line, said body member having a side opening at its large end to permit the operator to insert his finger for pressing the ball member into engagement with said line.

2. In a line clamp, a hollow body member having an interior cavity converging toward one end, a ball member housed within said body member for frictlonally clamping the free end of a line and means extending from said body member for permanent at- .tachment to the other end of the line, the large end of said body member having an inwardly extending inclined rib to force said ball member out of engagement with said line when the free end thereof is pulled.

3. In a line clamp,a hollow body member having an interior cavit converging toward one end, a ball mem er housed within 'said body member for frictionally clamping the free end of a line, and means extending from said body member for permanent attachment to the other end of the line, said body member having aside opening at its large end to permit the operator to insert his iingerfor pressing the ball member into engagement with said line said body member having a laterally inclined interior rib for causing said ball member to move into said side opening when the free end of the line is pulled.

4. In a lineclalnp, a hollow body member having an interior cavity converging toward one end, a ball member housed within said bodymember for frictionally clamping the free end of a line, and means extending from said body member for permanent attachment to the other end of the line, said body member-having a channel in its upper interior face for receiving the line, and a ball-receiving channel in its lower interior face, said line-receivin channel being of a smaller-radius than said ball-receivin channel, whereby said ball member will e prevented from cutting or otherwise injuring said line. i

5. In a line clamp, a hollow body member having an interior cavity converging toward one end, a ball member housed within said body member for frictionally clamping the free end of a line, and means extending from said body 'member for permanent attachment to the other end of the line, said body member having a horizontal channel in its upper interior faceffor receiving the line, and a downwardlyinclined ball rcceiving channel in its lower interior face, said line-receiving channel being of a smaller radius than said ball-receiving channel, whereby saidballmemberwill be prevented from cutting or otherwise injuring said line;

6. In a line clamp, a hollow body member, a spherical ball member 'located within said body member and freely movable therein, a 100 member extending from one end of said boc y member for permanent attachment to adapted to detachably and frictionally clamp the free end of the line against said body member.

one end of the line, said ball member being i In testimony whereof, I have afiixed my signature to this specification.

LEAMAN s. HARVEY. 

